As Angie's List prepares to leave behind its east-side Indianapolis campus, the sprawling property could soon return to the hands of one of the company's co-founders.

ANGI Homeservices Inc. is nearing a sale for the 25-building, 190,000-square-foot campus that hit the market in October. The company is moving Angie's List's employees to 130 E. Washington St.

A group led by former Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle is under contract to purchase the property as soon as next month, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported. The newspaper cited anonymous sources, but noted two of its executives — IBJ Corp. co-owners Mickey Maurer and Nathan Feltman — are part of Oesterle's investment group.

Oesterle declined to comment on any potential transaction involving the Angie's List site, but reaffirmed to IndyStar that he is interested in buying it. Angie's List acquired most of its property in 2012 from Henry Amalgamated, a company in which Oesterle was a majority owner.

"It's a great site," Oesterle said. "I've been working on it for the better part of 20 years. For whomever ends up with it, I think it's got a lot of potential."

The Angie's List headquarters is just east of Downtown, bounded by Ohio Street to the north, Highland Avenue to the east, East Washington Street to the south and Pine Street to the west.

Angie's List is exiting the campus after being acquired by the parent company of HomeAdvisor, a $500 million deal that created a new public company called ANGI Homeservices. Angie's List's move marks the end of an era for Indianapolis' east side, but also presents an opportunity for the longtime campus to be redeveloped into housing, retail and updated office space.

City and business leaders are optimistic that the property can attract new technology companies and create new dining and entertainment options for surrounding neighborhoods.

"It's already taken off," Oesterle said. "The near-east side, compared to what it was when we first moved down there in 2000, it's night-and-day different. You have new home construction, new businesses going in. Now, people can live in Holy Cross and walk to work."

Angie's List had about 1,000 employees in Indianapolis at the time of its merger with HomeAdvisor. The combined company on Tuesday declined to update that number.

ANGI Homeservices CEO Chris Terrill in an interview declined to discuss a sale of the campus, but said relocating Angie's List employees will be good for the company's culture.

"The campus is a really cool and unique campus," he said. "One of the limitations I feel it has is everyone is very separated. Part of what helped us grow quickly at HomeAdvisor is everyone is in this together."

In addition, he said, Angie's List employees will get a fresh start after a turbulent couple of years in which the company sputtered and ultimately was acquired. ANGI Homeservices is headquartered in Denver, but has committed to keeping the Angie's List brand and operations in Indianapolis.

"I think the folks at Angie's List had gone through a lot of change and when you go through that much change and that much pressure, you start to lose a little hope," Terrill said. "I think what we've been able to do is say, 'You've got the two best brands in the space together. It's a reset.' We've (HomeAdvisor) been growing and there's no reason Angie's List can't grow."

Matt Waggoner, a senior vice president for JLL, which is handling the sale, declined to comment on the status of the property. JLL last year opened up a narrow window for bidders to submit offers.

Waggoner called the bidding a "very competitive process" in which interest exceeded expectations.

That interest, in addition to the appeal of the property, alleviated any fears that the campus would sit vacant, said Zach Adamson, the Democratic vice president of the City-County Council, whose district includes the Angie's List campus.

"I wasn't too concerned about what was going to happen to it because the potential is so great," Adamson said.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.